Giles Laroche

Combining world culture, history, geography, and architecture, this visually stunning look at ancient cities around the globe takes readers to such places as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, and the mysterious sculptures of Angkor Wat. Perfect for fans of This is How We Do it and Atlas Obscura. What would it be like if you lived a thousand years ago? To pass through the Hanging Gardens of Babylon on your way home? Or gaze at the stars from your cave dwelling in Mesa Verde? On mountaintops, deserts, and the banks of rivers, ancient cities that once thrived have become lost to time. But in their ruins, we can find clues of the past and the extraordinary lives their residents lived. All it takes is a simple question: What was life like before? Beautiful illustrations, masterfully crafted from layers of cut paper, ask readers to spend a day in the shoes of someone from thousands of years ago. AGES: 6 to 9 AUTHOR: Giles Laroche, a master of cut-paper relief sculptures, captures stories from history that can't be told with photographs. Reviewers have called his art "truly masterful," "mind-bogglingly good," and "a visual feast." He lives in Salem, MA.

A poetry collection introducing animal architects that build remarkable structures in order to attract a mate and have babies. Many animals build something--a nest, tunnel, or web--in order to pair up, lay eggs, give birth, and otherwise perpetuate their species. Organized based on where creatures live--underground, in the water, on land, or in the air--twelve poems bring fish, insects, reptiles, mammals, and birds to life. Back matter includes more information about each animal.

Master of the cut and paste art technique, Giles Laroche takes readers on a storytelling journey around the world that celebrates the diversity of homes and the people who are shaped by them. Step into unique homes from around the world and discover the many fascinating ways in which people live and have lived. If you lived in the mountains of southern Spain, your bedroom might be carved out of a mountain. If you lived in a village in South Africa, the outside of your house might tell the story of your family. And if you lived in a floating green house in the Netherlands, you could rotate your house to watch both the sunrise and sunset. With intricate bas-relief collages, Giles Laroche uncovers the reason why each home was constructed the way in which it was, then lets us imagine what it would be like to live in homes so different from our own. Showing the tremendous variety of dwellings worldwide--log cabins, houses on stilts, cave dwellings, boathouses, and yurts--this book addresses why each house is build the way that it is. Reasons--such as blending into the landscape, confusing invaders, being able to travel with one's home, using whatever materials are at hand--are as varied as the homes themselves. List of Houses included: Dogtrot log house, based on dogtrots built in the southern U. S. Chalet, based on chalets built in the Austrian Alps. Pueblo, Taos, New Mexico Connected barn, based on connected barns common in northern New England. Cave dwelling, Guadix, Andalucia, Spain Palafitos (house on stilts), Chiloe Island, Chile Palazzo Dario, Venice, Italy Chateau La Brede, Bordeaux, France Tulou, Hangkeng village, Yongding, China Half-timbered houses, Miltenberg am Main, Germany Greek island village houses, Astipalaia Island, Greece Decorated houses of Ndebele, Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa Yurt, based on yurts in Mongolia and other parts of central Asia. Airstream trailer, USA Floating house, Middleburg, the Netherlands Tree house, USA